


you're not as real as i am

by PolzkaDotz



Series: october madness [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cryptids, Halloween, everybody is a cryptid but some people go unmentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-07 23:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20983898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolzkaDotz/pseuds/PolzkaDotz
Summary: Neil just wanted to rest while Halloween happened outside and he was too scared of being seen or photographed.He didn't want to crash the meeting place of anyone. Especially a bunch ofmonsters





	you're not as real as i am

**Author's Note:**

>   
thank you for clicking on this!!! It's technically finished, but I might come back to write more about it if I get the inspiration????? Until then, I won't tease anyone by pretending this is just the first chapter or something lmao  
Also, it's unbeated! If there's any gross typos, yell at me in the comments or something lmao  
Enjoy!

Abandoned houses were the godsend (or the capitalist-send) of Neil's life as a runaway. 

With his mother recently dead, there was little that Neil could actually do other than run as far as he could from where her body had been buried—by him, of course, because they had nothing but each other and now… 

However, there wasn’t much running that Neil could do on Halloween. Too many people, too many chances of being found, especially alone. It didn't help that he looked like a 12-year-old kid walking alone. Some people were overbearingly nosy and might be worried about a _kid _walking alone or some bullshit like that. It meant he had to stop and find some place to stay at the small town he’d found himself into and basically exercise his hope. 

Neil had been facing a dilemma for a while. Yes, it was Halloween night and there would be a lot of people outside, but after that… should he stay here in this town and try to find his footing on his own? Or should he just leg it for a little longer? 

At some point, he would have to start to pretend he was living a normal-ish life. He’d have to find a school. That would involve contacting one of his mother’s forgers for fake documents, and come up good enough cover story to explain why he had absolutely no parents to properly take care of him. 

Neil entertained the thought of hiring someone to act as his parent during the bureaucratic part of getting in a school—just for a few seconds, but he couldn’t stop himself from shuddering over the raw _wrongness_ of it. Maybe it was a bit too soon to think about that. 

Well… he had time. Especially tonight. 

For now, Neil could let himself just lay down on the bare ground of the second store of the abandoned house he had invaded and try to catch some sleep. 

* * *

Unfortunately for him, there were no rays of luck shining down upon his life because after what felt like minutes of napping, Neil was brought back to awareness with the sound of animated voices downstairs. 

Neil’s stomach filled with ice. He got up, trying not to make the old wood floor creak under his foot. He got closer to the room’s door and opened it a tiny sliver. He wanted it to be _just _drunk teenagers, looking for a place to be stupidly drunk together. Maybe just a couple of dumb teenagers, trying to overcome some harmless dare? 

All he could do was hope. 

But as he strained to hear what the voices said, his hope got dimmer and dimmer. The voices sounded confident, not scared or drunk or young _at all._ These were young adults, probab— 

He heard a growl. 

Fuck. Were they something worse? 

Neil hurried quietly to his bag and was halfway out of the window when a voice told him, “Hey, where are you going? Are you gonna miss the meeting?” 

Neil's head turned sharply and he blanched at what he saw. It looked like a monster, exposed skin covered in a light layer of _fur _that would probably look golden in the sunlight, but that turned silvery in the moonlight. The arms that were keeping the creature perched on the roof was slightly longer than was proportionally normal, but the face turned towards Neil had a curious expression. Nothing threatening at all. 

However, it was still not what Neil had thought he was going to see. There was no way Neil could’ve held onto the windowsill, even if the monster did extend one arm to try to hold Neil. 

He fell from the window and hit the ground with his back first, all the air being expelled from his lungs. Unfortunately for him, he bounced a little. His head hit the ground on the bounce and everything went black. 

* * *

Neil came back to himself sluggishly slow, his body complaining very loudly at him, but that just meant that since he couldn’t move, he _had_ to witness a very hushed but obviously worried conversation. 

“... never seen one of us look like this before. Lucky _fuck_.” 

“Maybe, but what an unlucky thing to happen to you on your first meeting! Poor guy.” 

A sigh. “Nicky should’ve known better.” 

“How was I supposed to know he’d fall? He shouldn’t be _leaving _through the window in the first place. There’s a perfectly functional front door!” 

“Nicky, you really shouldn’t surprise people who are on _windows_. No matter if they are coming or going.” 

“What is he, anyway? Is such a tiny fall like that really reason for _this_ much drama?” 

“Shut up, Seth, not everybody is an ogre like you.” 

“What the _fuck_ have you done?” asked an angry voice and that was enough to make Neil's brain fight to come back to full awareness. Angry people were dangerous, especially angry people that were in a group. 

“Nicky scared—” 

“I don't give a _fuck _about who Nicky scared! Why the fuck is there a human here?” 

“A _human?_” 

A human? 

Neil remembered his fall and adrenaline was enough to make him opened his eyes. 

And saw that he was now surrounded by monsters. 

The guy that made him fall was on the far side of the group, apparently caught in the middle of pacing. The others were too much for Neil to pay attention to them fully. Some had scales, some had really tough-looking skins, some had feathers, some had fur. Not everyone looked _inhuman _in the same degree, but none of them could ever be mistaken for human. Their eyes, limbs, skins were just slightly _off_. 

All of them were also looking away from Neil so he couldn’t analyze them fully, but it was enough to break his brain a little more. The group was staring towards a pair of identical blond… creatures, but while one of them was looking at the group of monsters, scorn clear on their face, the other was looking at Neil with cold eyes, devoid of emotions. The sclera were practically invisible, since the solid _gold_ of his irises with vertical pupils dominated his face. His tail called Neil’s attention as it swung lazily behind him. 

Neil wanted to hug himself just from how the cat-like creature’s face made it clear that Neil’s fate didn’t matter at all. 

The others turned to look at him too. 

Neil gulped. 

* * *

The situation was this: Neil had accidentally crashed the meeting of some fantastical creatures. They apparently didn't like to be called monsters but rather _cryptids_ (though one of them, a feathered tall woman [female-looking cryptid????] with an air of born-arrogance and a rich-person sneer on her face, did call the identical blond cat-like cryptid monsters). 

Fortunately for him, they had thought Neil was also a monster—a new one in their turf, informed magically about the meeting that always happened in abandoned houses who were secured early in the day by those of them who could disguise themselves better amongst the humans—usually the two blond cat-like cryptids. They had magical devices who made the house uninviting for any humans. 

Unfortunately for them, Neil had been here when they set it up, and the device wouldn't work to turn people away, just _keep_ them away. 

Allegedly, they didn’t see him at all when securing the location. Neil gave one look at the cryptid with dead eyes and doubted it. 

Anyway, there Neil was. Crashing a meeting he wasn't supposed to be a part of, just because he wanted a place to hide from the treat-or-tricksters. Having to witness a discussion of many creatures trying to decide if they were going to kill him or not. 

* * *

“You are nothing but a scared rabbit, aren't you?” 

Neil turned, even though his body screamed at him for moving at all, and he look at the blond cryptid—the one with the dead eyes, not the angry one. Towering over Neil, which only worked because Neil was sitting down. It didn't intimidate Neil, though. As far as towering went, the cryptid was so tiny that their presence didn't feel that scary. 

Or maybe it was because the other cryptids were actually arguing for Neil to be killed in the other side of the room, just a few feet away from him. It sure made them much more threatening than a creature with a very fluffy swish-tail. The current argument being used in favor of killing him was that it would ‘ensure their safety wasn't destroyed and they would still have a place to live’ after they left their meeting. 

Too late, Neil remembered that the cryptid had spoken to him, but he couldn't recall what had been said. 

An answer didn't seem to be needed, though. It didn't take long for the cryptid to sit down and face the far away group too, lighting up a cigarette that made an abnormal amount of smoke. 

Neil thought about his mother and his eyes started to sting. It smelled nothing like the cigarettes she favored, and nothing like her body burning, but Neil still told himself his eyes were reacting because of the smoke and the smoke _only_. 

“You have some interesting smells,” the blond man said after a while. 

Neil glanced briefly at him and turned away. “Sorry I haven't found a shower in a while?” 

“It's not that kind of smell,” the man said, letting out another puff of smoke. “It's… your past. What you fear in it. It cloaks you, surrounds you and makes your blood smell… inviting.” 

“Inviting in what way?” Neil said, thinking of vampires. Were there any vampire cats? Neil had no idea. 

“You smell like prey,” the cryptid turned to look at Neil, releasing another giant smoke cloud but this time towards Neil. It turned the cryptid into nothing but a figure eerily hazy and ghost-like. It was uncanny. “Like food.” 

Neil shivered but didn't say anything back. It wasn't like the man was _wrong_. Neil was indeed being hunted, for years and years and years now. He thought about his father and how hungry for vengeance he must be. 

Yeah… Neil understood why he smelled like food alright. 

There was a very long silence, only interrupted by the eventual rising of the others' voices. Until the blond cryptid finished his bizarre cigarette and buried the cherry on the carpet until it went out. “No explanations?” 

“About what?” 

“About your smell. About what you're doing here.” 

Neil shrugged. He didn't see why he should keep it a secret if there was a chance that he would be dead by the end of the night. “I'm a runaway.” 

“From the thing that scares you in your past?” 

“The people in it, yes.” 

The cryptid nodded and even through the smoke Neil could see that there was understanding in the face that stared at him. It was unbelievable but Neil felt _safe_ while talking here. 

“Do you plan on telling the world about us?” 

“Who the fuck would I tell? I don't have nobody.” 

Neil was stared down for a beat too long before the cryptid said, “You don't have to have anybody to go to some TV crew and tell them everything.” 

“Why would I go to a TV crew?” Neil spat out, suddenly angrier than was advisable for a man about to be walked to the noose. It was loud enough to call the attention of the rest of them but he didn't care. He had _nothing_, he was currently between being killed now or later when his father eventually caught-up to him after coming out of prison, and this _imbecile _thought he was going to plaster his face everywhere? “I'm on the _run. _I don't want attention. I just wanted a place I could sleep and wouldn't be killed.” 

“You did a great job, invading the meeting of creatures that can absolutely kill you.” 

“_Anything_ can kill me if they are dedicated enough,” Neil growled with a dismissive hand. “Also, I didn't _invade _anything. This was empty when I got here yesterday, and I was here first.” 

“You were here first,” the cryptid repeated, a faint note of triumph in the way their words were sang. 

“Yes!” 

“He was here first,” the cryptid repeated louder, turning to face the rest of the group to see their reaction. 

They had different amounts of relief, anger and resentment in their faces. They started to grumble and disperse themselves into groups, some of them angrily muttering to each other and others taking plates and cutlery and food out of impossibly tiny bags, setting up a supper on the ground. 

“What the fuck is happening,” Neil whispered to himself, but he didn't have time to turn and question the cryptid because the same cryptid that made him fall from the window was leaving the group and approaching them. What was their name again? Neil had heard it before, hadn’t he? 

“Hi, I'm Nicky,” the cryptid said meekly and started to play with their hands nervously. Neil blanched at the total _normal _name. “I was the one who accidentally made you fall. I take full responsibility for it and humbly offer my body to make up for it.” 

“What the _fuck_ is happening?” Neil asked, louder and with a lot more feeling. 

“You see, we are currently trespassing,” the blond cryptid said and gave a tiny sardonic smile when Neil turned to give an incredulous look at them. “In our culture that's a big no no. We like to respect each other's territory. It looks especially bad for us because we hurt and were discussing the killing of our host. That's just not the way these things go for us, manners wise. Nicky, my cousin here, has a habit of offerings the same… services when he angers someone.” 

Neil thought about saying, _The house isn't mine though, _but he wasn't that stupid. He looked at Nicky, at the blond cryptid, and then back at Nicky. “What exactly did you mean when you said that you were offering your body to me?” 

Nicky turned his confused gaze to the blond cryptid for a few seconds before going back to paying attention to Neil. “I mean… humans have sex, right? That's still the way you lot use to reproduce, isn't it?” 

Neil looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath. “Yes, that's still how humans do it, but I won't have sex with you.” 

“Careful, human,” the blond cryptid say, looking colder than ever. “You don't want to refuse someone who's trying to make amends. It might end up with Nicky here trying to kill himself to appease you for the offense.” 

Neil looked at them all and thought, _They're crazy. They're all batshit crazy_. He sighed and looked at the blond cryptid. “Is the food safe for humans?” 

“I don't know, why don’t you test it?” 

“Andrew…” Nicky drawled wearily and Neil jolted when he noticed that now he knew the blonde's name and it was so fucking _normal_ too_. _What the fuck was happening with this so called “cryptids”? 

“Yes, the food is safe for humans,” Andrew said and didn't bother to hide the mirth in their smile. 

“Would it be enough to… soothe the offense if Nicky made me a plate of food and brought it to me?” 

Andrew gave him a brief look and said, “Yes.” 

“Do it, then,” Neil said to Nicky and watched as he scrambled away to complete his task as quickly as he could. 

“Your manners are terrible,” Andrew commented. 

“Well… isn't there something about not saying some words like ‘Thank you’ for magical creatures because that's not polite for them?” Neil had heard that once. Was it from one of his mom’s stories, when she used to stay by his side until he fell asleep as a kid? Probably. Neil just remember being _baffled_ that someone who used “Ta” as thank you sometimes would say something like that. 

Andrew looked at Neil as if he was crazy. “The oldest of us in here is 25 years old in your human years.” 

“Oh. That's surprising.” 

“Still no apology for your manners, huh.” 

“Manners are not part of my culture.” 

“What, _human _culture?” 

“Oh, haven't you heard?” Neil gave Andrew a brilliant, wide, shit-eating smile. “I'm an unknown cryptid. Very rarely seen before and all that. My kind is very good at looking human. I have no idea how you, normal cryptids, treat each other.” 

“You're a little shit.” 

“Is that an acceptable way of talking to people in your culture? Seems a bit uncouth.” 

“Fuck you.” 

“What is it with you, normal cryptids, and your insistence in offering sex to me?” Neil shook his head with a fake expression of grief. “So uncultured from my rare cryptid point of view. I don't want sex. Stop offering.” 

Andrew snorted but seconds later seemed to get angry at themselves for it. Nicky chose that time to come back, so Neil got busy with eating an interesting amount of delicious fruits rather than watching as Andrew visibly tried to make himself look emotionless again. 

He turned to the group and observed them as they ate and started to discuss their matters—away from Neil but not really hostile towards him anymore, even though a couple of them still looked angry at the prospect of leaving Neil alive—and Neil tried to keep his face relaxed even when an extremely tall cryptid got a fucking twig from the table and started to _eat it_. 

As long as he was still alive though, Neil wouldn’t care if they just showed him a human leg and started to eat it. As long as it wasn’t him, Neil didn’t care, because now everything seemed like it was going to be fine_. _

* * *

They asked if Neil wanted to be included in the serious discussion of their matters, but they were visibly relieved when Neil declined and went upstairs again, collapsing on the ground in a heap of limbs. 

It wouldn't take long until they were gone and Neil could start pretending this was all just a dream and worry about the actual problems in his life. 

Just thinking about how he got in this situation was depressing for Neil. It didn't take long for him to start daydreaming of running away with the cryptids. His father probably wouldn't find him if he was hiding with creatures that were _excellent _at hiding, right? 

For a second it was fine to entertain those thoughts. Then Neil sighed and laid down, listening to the soft sounds that came from downstairs but unable to decipher anything. 

Neil knew, he just _knew _they would never take him. 

* * *

It was well into the night when they were done discussing. Whenever their volume started to get higher, someone would shush really loudly and it would be almost impossible to hear any sounds until ten minutes later or something. 

A knock on the door alerted him that they were probably finished now. Nicky shoved his head inside and peered sheepishly at Neil, his big reflective eyes not hiding how bad he was still feeling about almost killing Neil. 

“Hey, we're done now,” Nicky said quietly. 

“Oh,” Neil said and made to get up, but hesitated. “Is there any kind of… special goodbye that I need to give to you?” 

“Uhh, not really?” Nicky's face was uncertain but he shortly grew anxious all of a sudden. “Which doesn't mean that some of us don't want to say goodbye to you!! Like, most of us have only _heard_ stories of humans and you're incredibly chill for one. I wouldn't bother saying bye to Seth, but it's mostly because he's a horrible ogre who hates everybody, so don't take it personally. Also, there's still some food left and I don't know how often humans eat but if you feel hungry it's there and it's gonna take a while to go bad so—” 

“Nicky,” Neil said and Nicky audibly clicked his mouth shut. “I'll be down in a second to say goodbye.” 

Nicky smiled brightly and disappeared, probably to tell the others that Neil was coming. Neil hoped that those who didn't want to talk to him would get the hint and just go away but he doubted that it would happen. From what he'd seen, most of them stuck together in small groups. If one of the group wants to stay and say goodbye, all of them will. 

Neil got to where it probably used to be the living room and only the tall twig-eater, an energetic cryptid with insect-like, iridescent wings and Andrew remained. Neil could also see Nicky and Andrew’s twin waiting outside in the dark, no moonlight or street light bright enough to light their faces up. 

The winged cryptid and twig-eater gave Neil a long-winded goodbye that explained why the others hadn’t stayed and apologized profusely for even thinking about killing him, as well as telling Neil their names: Dan and Matt, respectively. Neil shook his head at them and offered a handshake. Matt’s giant hands swallowed Neil's gently, but the handshake was brief. Dan, as energetic as her speech, shook his hands vigorously and for a beat too long but not long after they were disappearing in the night, after giving a quick look towards Andrew. 

From their faces, Neil could tell they were more worried about leaving _Neil _with Andrew than having offended him. 

Neil opened his mouth to say bye to Andrew, but Andrew said, “Are you good at something?” 

Neil couldn't say anything for a few seconds as he tried to process what Andrew had said. When his brain finally kicked into gear, Neil said, “Running. I'm a good runner.” 

“Are you preternaturally fast?” 

Neil gave him a wicked smile. “I'm not that kind of cryptid.” 

“Are you smart at all?” 

“I wouldn't go that far.” 

“Do you have any useful skills Are you good with numbers? Languages? Can you take care of finances?” 

“Uhhhh, I mean, probably can take care of finances??” Neil was utterly lost. “I can speak three human languages and I've always been good at Math when I could go to school?” 

“You don't sound very sure,” Andrew said, frowning skeptically. 

“I am sure of all these things. They are all true,” Neil looked outside again and noticed that Nicky was giving them interested looks while the other Andrew's twin glared menacingly. Or rather, _tried _to glare menacingly. He wasn't the meanest-looking _person_ Neil had ever seen, let alone _cryptid_. “I’m just… confused why these things _matter_.” 

“You see, your existence annoys my dear brother Aaron,” Andrew said and they both looked out of the window to the aforementioned gloomy brother. “I can offer protection for some time if you come work at my shop, so you can annoy him just by existing.” 

“What kind of shop do you have?” 

“I sell ice-cream,” Andrew raised a single finger and brought it to his lips, shushing Neil before whispering quietly. “And promises.” 

“Promises?” 

“Yes,” Andrew looked Neil up and down. “I really think you should say yes.” 

Neil thought about it. He had dreamed of running with them, and now his opportunity was _here_. From the sound of it, he wouldn’t have to do much other than _exist _for him to be protected. It was better than his current situation. 

Maybe a break would be good for him. Finally process his shit, while not having to constantly watch his back for his father’s people, fearing the moment when his father would be back in the game. 

Neil looked at Andrew and felt as secure as he had during their conversation. 

He shrugged as he looked at Aaron and gave him a tiny, but clearly not genuine smile. Aaron sneered at him and turned his back to them. 

“Why not?” Neil said. Andrew grinned. 

**Author's Note:**

> if there's anything you want to see from this, you can send your suggestions to my tumblr, [polzkadotz](http://polzkadotz.tumblr.com)!!!
> 
> btw: title from CHVRCHES' "Broken Bones"


End file.
